Southport - the Classic Resort on England's North West Coast

2009

District

105BN

IT Award

●

Christmas Lights Switch-On

18th November 2007

 

Get the Chuck Wagon ready, make sure the flashing novelties have arrived on time and are stowed on board, print the bucket labels and the new Authorised Collector Badges, arrange the rota for Lions and volunteers, tow the Chuck Wagon to the Town Hall, put up the lights, check the generator only to find it isn't working, run the extension cable to the Town Gardens Cafe (thanks VERY much!), start selling the novelties, issue the buckets to the collectors, brew tea and coffee - it gets coooold standing around for several hours, collect in the buckets, sell more novelties, repack the unsold items, dispose of the rubbish, repack the Chuck Wagon, tow it back to its lair, and then go home. Nothing to it!

But, of course, we haven't earned the nickname of Intrepid Bucketeers for nothing! The money we collect from (nearly!) everyone watching the Parade, and the profits we make on sale of novelties, go entirely to our charitable activities. And of course, with Christmas coming up, the funds are extremely useful to pay for the Parcels which we distribute to less fortunate members of our community.

But once we have set up and the Ferocious Lion appears on the scene, the whole atmosphere changes! Children of all ages....

...Photographers of all ages, and many others head straight for the Chuck Wagon to be seen with the coolest Lion of all...

We would like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who supported our efforts. More than £400 was donated to our street collectors, and a similar amount was raised from the sale of novelties. The generosity shown will provide Christmas Parcels for more than eighty families and individuals in and around Southport, families and individuals who have been nominated by organisations and neighbours, and who will know that there are people out there who do care about them.

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